Femke Bol wins gold in 400-meter hurdles

One fall just before the finish line was enough. This time, as she successfully crossed the finish line on both legs, a smile immediately lit up her face.

On Friday, Femke Bol (23, the Netherlands) secured the gold medal in the women's 400-meter hurdles final at the World Championships in Athletics hosted in Budapest, Hungary. She achieved this feat by completing the race in an impressive 51.70 seconds. This accomplishment comes just five days after a dramatic incident where, as the anchor runner for the Netherlands in the mixed 1,600-meter relay, she stumbled just five meters away from the finish line while on track to set a world record pace.

“Leading up to this tournament, I was considered a top contender for the championship. However, as evidenced by the mixed relay mishap, not everything always unfolds as anticipated,” Bol said. “Before I received the baton in the mixed relay, the prevailing assumption was that we (the Netherlands) were poised to clinch the gold medal effortlessly. But the outcome diverged from that projection. Approaching this particular race, I resolved to concentrate on my performance and execute my strategy.”

The reigning champion of the women's 400-meter hurdles is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (24, the U.S.), who secured gold medals at both the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and last year's World Championships in Eugene, the U.S. Additionally, she holds the world record in this event, clocking an impressive 50.68 seconds. However, McLaughlin’s absence from the tournament due to a knee injury seemed to pave the way for Bol's victory, making her triumph almost inevitable.

However, reality took a different turn. When Bol finished at 52.95 seconds during the preliminaries, many thought that the aftermath of the mixed relay race had left its impact. Nonetheless, she emerged as the sole athlete to break the 51-second barrier in the final, securing her first major championship victory. Her final time of 51.70 seconds marks her second-best performance, trailing by only 0.25 seconds behind her personal best of 51.45 set earlier in April this year.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com